5 of the best comebacks in UFC title fights
There are not many more entertaining to watch in the UFC world than a dramatic comeback from a fighter who looks dead and buried.
The UFC has seen some memorable and dramatic comebacks over the years, but some of the best have been reserved for UFC title fights.
So with this in mind, here are five of the greatest comebacks in UFC title fights.
#1 Charles Oliveira vs. Michael Chandler – UFC 262
The most recent UFC title fight saw one of the promotion’s greatest-ever comebacks. Charles Oliveira somehow absorbed a ludicrous beating to stop Michael Chandler in the second round of their fight.
The fight was for the vacant UFC lightweight title. Both men were bringing in a stellar reputation and were coming off impressive recent performances. It was definitely a tough fight to call.
But in the first round, at least, it looked like it was Chandler’s to lose.
The former Bellator champion escaped a takedown and back control from Oliveira and stunned him with a series of power punches that put him down.
Oliveira looked on the verge of being stopped as Chandler continued to hammer him. But incredibly, the Brazilian, who was once criticized for his lack of durability, survived the round.
As the second round began, Do Bronx came out with some serious aggression and suddenly waylaid Chandler with a brutal left hand.
Iron Mike was able to get to his feet, but it was clear that he was in trouble. A swarm of punches from Oliveira put him down for good just seconds later.
It was a remarkable comeback that nobody could’ve seen coming and was enough to hand Oliveira the UFC lightweight crown in the process.
#2 Matt Hughes vs. BJ Penn - UFC 63
Matt Hughes was well on his way to becoming a legendary UFC welterweight champion in 2004 when he ran into former lightweight BJ Penn.
Hughes, who had already reeled off five successful defenses, expected a routine win over Penn. But the Prodigy had other ideas and choked him out in the first round.
Hughes would regain the title when Penn vacated it later in the year. But when the Hawaiian returned to the UFC in 2006, it was clear that a rematch was always on the cards.
That rematch took place at UFC 63, and early on, it looked like the result would be the same.
Hughes simply couldn’t take Penn down. In the first round, he looked painfully outgunned standing. And when he did manage a takedown in the second, Penn dominated him, taking his back and coming close to finishing with a triangle choke.
But despite losing two rounds badly, Hughes remained calm. As he came out for the third round, it was clear that Penn had blown his gas tank.
Hughes was able to take over the stand-up and eventually took Penn down. He applied a mounted crucifix and pounded Penn's head until the referee was forced to stop the fight.
Hughes would lose his UFC welterweight crown to Georges St. Pierre in his next fight. But it’s hard to argue with the idea that of all his legendary wins, this comeback stands at the top.
#3 Tim Sylvia vs. Andrei Arlovski – UFC 59
UFC 51 saw a fight for the UFC heavyweight title between Andrei Arlovski and Tim Sylvia, and it didn’t last long. Arlovski decked Sylvia in the opening seconds and then submitted him with an Achilles lock moments later.
Just over a year later, Arlovski was still the reigning UFC heavyweight champion, while Sylvia had worked his way back to a rematch.
The Maine-iac promised that the outcome would be different at UFC 59. But when Arlovski decked him with a huge right hand in the first round, that didn’t seem likely.
Somehow though, Sylvia willed himself to his feet, his legs clearly wobbled from the shot. How he’d gotten up was anyone’s guess.
Unsurprisingly, Arlovski sensed the win and closed in to finish Sylvia off. But incredibly, he walked directly into a short right uppercut that landed directly to his jaw.
The Pitbull crashed to the ground face-first and some follow-up punches from Sylvia were enough to stop the fight. This gave Sylvia an unlikely UFC title win in one of the greatest comebacks in UFC history.
#4 Brock Lesnar vs. Shane Carwin – UFC 116
Coming into his UFC heavyweight title fight with Shane Carwin at UFC 116, there were a lot of questions around Brock Lesnar.
The former WWE champion had won his title by beating Randy Couture and Frank Mir convincingly. But we still hadn’t really seen him take a punch or work through adversity.
However, Lesnar would do both against Carwin.
The challenger used his brutal punching power to hurt Lesnar standing in the opening seconds of the first round. And when the champion hit the ground, Carwin didn’t let up.
He landed bomb after bomb onto Lesnar, who could do little else but cover-up. Somehow, he was able to survive what was a horribly one-sided round.
But the mannerisms of both men in their corners between rounds told a different story. Lesnar was hurt but recovering. Carwin, on the other hand, looked exhausted.
And just moments into the second round, Lesnar secured a takedown and it was clear that Carwin didn’t have much left. The Beast Incarnate secured an arm-triangle choke, synched it up, and the challenger quickly tapped out.
It was a huge win – and a huge comeback – from Lesnar, who cemented himself as the undisputed UFC heavyweight champion. The fact that it was his comeback fight after dealing with a bout of diverticulitis only added to the occasion.
#5 Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen – UFC 117
The other comebacks we’ve discussed here saw the victorious fighter turn the tide either early into the fight or midway through it.
That wasn’t the case with Anderson Silva’s comeback against Chael Sonnen. In fact, the UFC middleweight champion waited until the dying moments of the final round to pull off his own miracle.
Prior to the fight, Silva had looked unbeatable. He’d won eleven UFC fights in the four years prior to UFC 117, with nobody really coming close to dethroning him.
But Sonnen, who’d talked an insane amount of trash in the build-up to the fight, was determined to back up his words.
And so he took Silva down over and over and battered him with a non-stop barrage of punches and elbows, clearly winning the first four rounds of the fight.
By the beginning of the fifth, it was clear that the Spider needed a finish. But when Sonnen took him down to continue the beatdown, it looked like he was out of ideas.
That was until the final two minutes of the fight. Incredibly, Silva threw his legs up for a triangle choke, caught Sonnen perfectly, and tightened it until the American Gangster was forced to tap.
Everyone who saw the fight was blown away by the finish – including Sonnen, who tried to claim that he didn’t tap out.
Over a decade later, the comeback remains probably the best in UFC history, as well as one of Silva’s greatest-ever victories too.